Hypnosis


EQ: To what extent is hypnosis effective?


Read the following article in preparation for the answer to the above question: Does Hypnosis Work?

This is a brief, albeit interesting module, the essential question is important. Hypnosis is used a lot in our society. Not all people can be hypnotized, and some of it is also just trickery. Nonetheless, it is an important part in understanding the human mind.
Notes for this module:

Homework for this module, be sure to read the entire module in preparation for your quiz:

Activities for Class
For this topic we will spend some time looking at two teacher lead tests to find out if who might be susceptible to hypnotism.
Before we begin our study, watch the video below. The hypnotist is Wayne Lee. As you watch do note that his subjects do decrease in number, which might suggest that they could not be kept under his control for the duration of the show, and do pay attention to the hostess of the program. Note that she cannot be kept under his spell for very much time. This shows that not all people can be hypnotized, at least insofar as this sort of mass hypnotism is concerned.



Activities for testing:
  1. Hypnosis as Heightened Suggestibility. As this experiment is conducted with the class, be sure to listen and follow the instructions given. This is taken from a book called Body Magic
  2. The Creative Imagination Scale. The actual test for this (Wilson and Barber, 1978) contained ten test-suggestions. We are only using two. Regarding your response to each suggestion, record your response for each as per the scale below
  • Compared to what you would have experienced had the situation been for real
    • 0 - Not at all the same
    • 1 - A little the same
    • 2 - Between a little and much the same
    • 3 - Much the same
    • 4 - Almost exactly the same

Hypnotism as a Tool for Health Care
Hypnotism has been suggested as a way to help people quite smoking, lose weight, or deal with certain types of personality or psychological disorders. It is generally noted that in the aforementioned the efficacy of hypnotism as a treatment has been questionable. However, studies have been conducted which suggest that it can be used with varying levels of success as a form of anesthesia during surgery. Read the following article (which is embedded within) the document below.